26 
Wafer  Capsules. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1       Jan.  1876. 
and  wafer  discs  that  can  be  prepared  by  any  one  at  a  very  trifling  out- 
lay. 
To  prepare  the  capsules,  the  mode  of  proceeding  is  as  follows : 
Procure  wafers  in  sheets  such  as  are  used  by  fancy-cakes-bakers.  Cut 
them  into  circular  pieces  by  means  of  a  hollow  punch.  One  of  these 
is  slightly  dampened  by  placing  it  between  wet  muslin  cloths,  removed 
and  inserted  between  two  tin  plates  which  have  been  prepared  of  the 
desired  shape  of  the  finished  disc  ;  after  pressing  together  the  plates, 
the  wafer  will  have  received  the  desired  impression  and  is  ready  to 
receive  whatever  suitable  combination  the  physician  may  desire  to  pre- 
scribe. 
I  have,  however,  found  wafer  sheets  which  could  not  be  moistened 
and  worked  to  advantage  in  this  way  ;  but  these  can  be  managed  with- 
out this  treatment,  if  the  tin  plates  are  heated,  the  flat  wafer  inserted, 
and  pressure  applied  as  before. 
These  latter  have  a  highly  polished  surface,  and  can  be  manufactured 
with  greater  rapidity  than  the  former. 
The  use  of  the  press  is  to  seal  the  wafers.  This  is  accomplished 
by  properly  moistening  the  internal  surface  of  the  rim  of  one  wafer, 
upon  which  has  previously  been  placed  the  medicine,  and  covering  this 
with  another,  and  submitting  to  pressure.  This  moistening  is  done  by 
an  apparatus  formed  by  taking  two  hollow  metallic  cylinders,  differing 
in  diameter,  enclosing  one  within  the  other  and  filling  the  intervening 
space  with  round  lampwick  or  flannel  cloth,  which  is  allowed  to  slightly 
project.  This  is  moistened  by  applying  it  to  a  piece  of  flannel  which 
has  been  previously  wetted  ;  or  one  of  the  discs  may  be  pressed  upon 
a  moistened  cloth  until  the  rim  is  in  such  condition  that  when  applied 
to  the  filled  disc  it  will  adhere. 
Our  fellow-member,  E.  M.  Boring,  has  devised  a  press  which 
answers  all  requirements,  and  is  yet  so  simple  in  its  construction  that 
any  one  can,  in  a  short  time,  with  comparatively  no  expense,  make  one. 
It  consists  of  two  pieces  of  one-and-a-half-inch  hardwood  board, 
